Saturday 4 December 2010

Ice Sculptures

Here comes the fun part after the snow… The ice.

Think I’d rather have the snow thankyouverymuch.

This I noticed earlier…


The snow on the roof is melting, hitting the dish and then dripping into the pot below:


This twig is a Raspberry cane, it is in a nearby pot leaning over... I wonder if it will survive??




Some icicles by the landing window… We’ve an epic one which you can you only just make out if you look out the corner of the window… Sadly the camera can’t quite catch it, I’d guess it’s around the 3/4 foot mark.

It's slightly warmer today so we had a go at clearing the path up to our house... Cleared my elderly neighbour's too, she has health carers coming so it should at least help them a little.
Let's hope we have a miracle and it all melts today!

Look what we made with the icy snow...

He has pride of place on our wall as you come through the gate, wonder how long he'll last.






Snow, please go away. You've already ruined my plans for two weekends now... At this rate there will be no Christmas at Gwirrel's house!

36 comments:

NotSoAngryRedHead said...

I think ice is only fun for photographing and looking at from inside the house. It's a terrible nuisance (and a danger) beyond that.

debsgarden said...

Now I'm shivering. I've heard you have had a lot of snow - brrr! Great photos, as always!

Su said...

Ours has practically gone today, hope yours does soon. Those icicles are amazinf though aren't they

Lona said...

Well I hope the weather lets up so you can get your Christmas shopping done. Ice is the worst. I am with you I would rather have the snow. Nothing will drive on ice and the walking is perilous to those of us who do not bounce like we use to. LOL!

Liz said...

Hi,

The ice certainly is pretty to look at - amazing too! But yes, nothing worse than attempting to walk or drive on it. Thankfully we don't appear to have had any on the roads/pavements as the snow is still too deep.

Liz said...

Hi Debs,

Indeed yes we've been hit very hard in the UK over the past couple of weeks, and now they're even telling us the cold could last until the new year... Hopefully that doesn't include the snow though. Otherwise I will resort to digging the entire street out.

Liz said...

Hi Su,

Our snow is still very much with us, although it is definitely melting and any thinner areas which have been walked on have all melted.
I do love the icicles and it's been many years since I was little and we had such impressive icicles. In the warmer weather we've had today most have melted though.

Liz said...

Hi Lona,

I can't see the snow melting any time soon, we were forecast sleet today and I'd hoped it would melt most of it away, instead we've just had very very light drizzle and it's only melted away the thinner areas of snow where we've walked, the deeper areas are still almost knee depth.

Pam's English Garden said...

Dear Liz, Your snowman made me smile! We haven't had enough snow to make one yet, but it is so cold we have some ice. My husband just put the electric heater in the bird bath for our poor feathered friends. Stay warm! P. x

VW said...

I like admiring the ice sculptures by computer instead of in (freezing) person! My husband and the kids are building an igloo with blocks of snow that are shaped in the recycling bin. They're about 3/4 of the way done and exhausted, so we'll see if it ever gets done. Good exercise!

Esther Montgomery said...

We've had wonderful ice sculptures round here too, with the ice encapsulating leaves as well as twigs and making the most ordinary of weeds look entrancing.

Esther

Cheryl said...

Hi Liz.....I agree, great images, but worse than snow. So dangerous....
Our temperatures are dropping rapidly tonight....we had frost at 5.00. No doubt the roads will be icy tomorrow....oh joy.

You are so kind clearing the neighbours path....you will get your rewards in heaven!!

Cute little snowman....me thinks he may be around for quite a while. It will be interesting to see just how long.....

Yoke, said...

I've been stuck indoors until Thursday. My wheels could not get any grip out on the path outside the gate. (the road starts 2 houses down from me.) It is now a lot better. I can at least get down the hill to the village shop again. Still got a steady frost, but my claustrophobia is diminishing again. Until.... I do not trust the weather yet. And next week will be another one of those weeks with winds from the north.

nevertheless, I love your pictures as they are as beautiful as ever.

Liz said...

Hi Pam,

I hope you don't get as much snow as we've had, but it's always fun to have a sprinkling! Everything always looks so different and the light is always so amazing... Just wish it would melt a little faster :)

A couple of days ago I watched our Sparrows bathing in the snow! Who'd have thought it??? Very interesting.

Liz said...

Hi VW,

I've seen photos of people here building igloos, I don't think I have the determination for such a project though... Especially as our snow was just powder and you couldn't even make a proper snowball!

Hopefully your kids (including your husband ;) ) manage to finish their project :)

Liz said...

Hi Esther,

I hope you don't slip on any ice if it's also on the ground! We don't seem to have it thankfully, although my icicles have now all melted... Shame, I hoped they would manage to get longer than the window...

Liz said...

Hi Cheryl,

I hope your roads are ok, stay in the house where it's safe!
It hasn't been as warm here today sadly, I've barely seen any difference in the snow height... I wanted it to have melted for Monday so bad... Oh well, I'll be wearing wellies to Uni tomorrow!

Awww thanks Cheryl, I try to look out for my neighbour at least and in the past have given her some of my veggies - tomatoes, beans and such. One of her sons comes round and cooks on a Sunday for her because he doesn't like her cooking during the week so it's her one home cooked meal. (of course she still eats, but they're ready meals)
Other neighbours on the street have been out and bought her food to make sure she's ok, I haven't seen any of her family round - most likely due to the snow.

Little snowman was still with us today, but I think he has melted a little...

Cheryl said...

Hi Liz, I have to go out tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it. Black ice scares me to death....

I do so love community spirit...something that was very much around when I was a child.
It gives one a great feeling to help those who are worse off than ourselves....

Stay warm, stay safe.....

Shady Gardener said...

You are having fun - and "making lemonade from lemons." Be careful of those long icicles that hang overhead!! Cute snowman. :-)

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Liz, I hope it melted and all your plants survived! Our last ice storm was several years ago when we lived in the Midwest. It looked like a fairyland, so beautiful... but many trees got broken, we could hear the branches and even some trunks snap.
Stay warm!

Anonymous said...

Dear Liz, All such fun....especially when indoors and wrapped around a cup of hot chocolate!

Liz said...

Hi Yoke,

Today (Monday) was the first time I ventured out since Friday 26th Nov!!! It wasn't too bad, there it enough snow still around that it isn't yet ice.
We've had a hard frost overnight, which I worried would affect the snow, but it didn't seem to cause any probs other than being extremely cold this morning.
Next door but one have managed to get their car up the hill for the first time since the Friday I mentioned earlier! Not so sure I'd want to attempt to move mine though, but I ought to clear the snow away and check the battery is ok.

Hopefully it'll clear soon, been sunny today but bitterly cold so I don't think much will have melted.

Liz said...

Hi Cheryl,

I hope the ice wasn't too bad! Main roads here are ok, but the pavements are awful and all side roads are terrible, very thick ice in places and I have to wonder just how damaged the tarmac underneath is.

To be honest, I think it's a northern or at least a Sheffield thing. People are very friendly and you'll see this happening a lot. People around here know their neighbours and even other people in general. I regularly chat to strangers at bus stops, this evening I was talking to a 14/15yr old about the snow and ice on my way home! Some random teenage boy, can you believe it?!?!! And even more so, he was perfectly friendly and chatty.

Liz said...

Hi SG,

The icicles have melted now... Very disappointed because the huge one has broken in half too... Just glad I wasn't underneath it when it went :)

Liz said...

Hi Tatyana,

Sadly all the snow and ice is still with us and I don't think it'll be melting over the next couple of days. The daytime temperatures aren't rising high enough to melt it today I don't think we managed above freezing.

Liz said...

Hi Edith,

The snow is lovely to look at, and even better when you have nothing to do and no need to leave the house... Next I just need some hot chocolate!

Rose said...

Lovely photos, Liz! The ice creates such beautiful sculptures, perfect for photographing. But I'm like you--I'd much rather have snow, thank you. Slipping and falling on ice or trying to drive on it is just too scary. I hope this all melts so that you can have a great Christmas!

Anna said...

Great icicles Liz and what a fine fellow your snowman is. Here we are cold but icicleless :( On the plus side after a couple of grey and foggy days we have some welcome blue skies and sunshine :) Hope that you are able to get out and about safely soon.

Anonymous said...

The images are really very lovely. The snowman gave me a smile. We are having lake effect snow this week, which means it sticks around. I am in the same boat as you. Yesterday I thought to photograph snow in the neighborhood, but I did not venture from the back door after work. You are much braver to get so many nice photos.

Meredith said...

Liz, that is a lot of snow and ice! I think your snowman is cute -- but I can understand your frustration and hope his frostbitten existence is brief! Watch out for that icicle when it falls, okay? I saw someone injured by a massive one in Montreal once, and it wasn't pretty.

Sending you best wishes for a nicer bout of seasonal weather.

Liz said...

Hi Rose,

Ideally I'd like nice thick snow for a day, then it can all melt.
That way you get that nice sense of excitement, a day off work/school/whatever and then everything is back to normal and you can carry on with your life as you please.

We're due some more reasonable temperatures by the end of the week, so hopefully it will melt quickly... I plan on getting my tree on Friday and hope it'll be gone by then.

Liz said...

Hi Anna,

Most of the icicles have now gone, the beastly one broke in half at some point and I'm grateful I wasn't underneath it at the time!!
Nothing has melted for the past few days as we haven't even managed to get above freezing yet it's been brilliant blue skies, instead we've just had hard frost after hard frost every morning.

The sun has suddenly become much lower in the sky too and now doesn't even get over the hedge at the back... I wonder how long we'll have snow on the garden.

Today I decided to clear all the snow off my car and make sure the battery was working. In the end other neighbours came out and started digging the compacted snow - thick ice - so I can now get the car out if I decide to brave the roads.

Liz said...

Hi gardenwalkgardentalk

If I'm honest, most of my shots have been from inside the house... Very few were taken actually outside, or it was a case of running outside, taking some snaps and then going back in to defrost my toes/fingers.

Liz said...

Hi Meredith,

Little snowman is still with us, granted his face is somewhat mis-shapen now and some teeth have fallen out!
I think I need to get myself a little figure to have permenantly... ha ha

The largest icicle has already broken in two and all the smaller icicles melted a few days ago... Thankfully we don't often go down the side of the house, so no one was around when they fell.

ARK said...

That is a SCARY, but beautiful amount of ice!

mike 'hazeltree' thompson said...

gosh you are having it rough 'up north'. we fly to newcastle this weekend to see our grand-children, taking thermals with us! seems like the weather is warming up this weekend so you will be able to catch up with your christmas preparations...take care now..